The present invention relates to a tool for sheathing a bundle of elongate elements, such as a bundle of tubes or of electric cables, and in particular a bundle of the type used in the manufacture of motor vehicles.
In the automotive field, electric wiring is generally prepared as one or more harnesses of wires assembled on a mounted jig with the wires being held together by means of adhesive ties or split rings of plastics material, after which the resulting assembly is covered in a sheath of split and ringed plastics material, or adhesive tape is wound around it, or it is received in adhesive tape that extends lengthwise and is wrapped transversely onto it.
Thus, document WO-A-97/26664 discloses a tool for sheathing a bundle by wrapping the bundle in a flexible adhesive tape, e.g. of polyurethane foam or of baize, extending lengthwise and wrapped transversely to itself around the bundle, with the longitudinal edges thereof being united by adhesive. The tool has a member for shaping the tape, which member has a V-shaped cross-section and causes the tape to being to be wrapped transversely around the bundle which is placed in the bottom of the V-shaped strip formed by the tape passing over the member. The bundle and the tape extend along different directions before being united (generally at 90xc2x0 to each other) and the shaping member possesses a deflector edge that is likewise V-shaped enabling the direction of incidence of the tape to be modified by causing it to change direction at the location where it meets the bundle while limiting deformation of the tape. Nevertheless, when the tape is broad (e.g. 100 millimeters wide) or thin, the tape tends to sag in the bottom of the V of the shaping member and to form wrinkles.
There thus exists a need which has not yet been resolved conveniently for a sheathing tool of the above-specified type which provides good quality sheathing with most adhesive tapes, and in particular those that are relatively broad or thin.
To this end, according to the invention, a shaping member comprises a sleeve of substantially circular cross-section that possesses a sloping end forming the deflector edge, and opposite to the point where the tape arrives therein, a longitudinal slot through which the longitudinal margins of the tape pass, the sleeve having at least one longitudinal hinge to enable it to be opened and to enable the tape to be put into place therein.
Thus, when the tape is put into place in the shaping member and the tape is folded against the deflector edge, the tape is held on the portions of the deflector edge adjacent to the slot, which portions converge towards each other. This limits the risk of the tape sagging.
Advantageously, the longitudinal slot has edges which are extended out from the sleeve by tongues. The tape that has been put into place in the shaping member is folded against the tongues which improve the holding of the tape against the deflector edge.